Tubular carton

ABSTRACT

A tubular carton is disclosed which has particular utility as a support means for an egg-shaped product containing shell. The carton is prepared from a single blank of folded and glued paperboard and includes at the top thereof an integral locking means for retaining the shell in the carton and at the bottom an opening feature for removing the shell from the carton.

' United States Patent [191 Forbes, Jr. et al.

[451 Nov. 11, 1975 1 TUBULAR CARTON [75] Inventors: Hampton E. Forbes, Jr.,

Wilmington; Lawrence J. LaFreniere, Newark, both of Del. [73] Assignee: Westvaco Corporation, New York,

[22] Filed: Jan. 13, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 540,453

[52] U.S. Cl 229/21; 229/41 B 229/41 C; 229/51 TS [51] Int. Cl. B65D 3/04 [58] Field of Search 229/21, 41 C, 41 B, 51 TS [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 880,952 3/1908 Yarnall 229/21 1216391 2/1917 Allen 229/21' 2,019,787 11/1935 Leopold. 229/41 C 2,741.416 4/1956 Hileman 229/41 C 2,749,018 6/1956 Berke 229/41 C 3.381.877 5/1968 Arneson v 229/21 3.411,692 11/1968 Mathews 229/21 3.633.814 1/1972 Michetti et a1. 229/21 3,741.379 6/1973 Kappler et a1. 229/51 S PIT/7101') E.\'mninerWilliam 1. Price Assistant Examiner-Stephen P. Garbe 5 7] ABSTRACT A tubular carton is disclosed which has particular utility as a support means for an egg-shaped product containing shell. The carton is prepared from a single blank of folded and glued paperboard and includesat the top thereof an integral locking means for retaining the shell in the carton and at the bottom an opening feature for removing the shell from the carton.

7 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures US. Patent Nov. 11, 1975 Sheet 1 of2 US. Patent Nov. 11, 1975 Sheet2of2 3,918,629

34 L D L 48 TUBULAR CARTON BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION SUMMARY OF INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a tubular carbon having an integral bottom that is prepared from a single blank of folded and glued paperboard. In particular, the present invention relates to a tubular carton that finds utility as a support means for an egg-shaped product containing shell or one of spheroidal or ellipsoidal shape.

In its simplest form, the tubular carton of the present invention may take one of two basic constructions. First, the carton may be formed substantially like a tray wherein anintegral circular end closure wall is hingedly connected to the lower edges of a pair of upstanding side walls which are in turn secured together or seamed along two opposed longitudinal or vertical seams. Secondly, the carton may be formed substantially like a cylinder with one longitudinal seam, wherein a single continuous side wall has an integral circular end closure wall and a plurality of segmental flaps attached to the lower edge thereof, that are secured to one another to define the end closure. In either case, the tubular cartons of the present invention also include flapped members along the top edge of the carton side walls which flapped members include integral locking means for retaining the product containing shells in position. In addition, the tubular cartons of the present invention also include means associated with the integral end closure walls for opening the cartons to permit the removal of the product containing shells.

Thus in general, the tubular carton of the present invention resembles the carton construction disclosed in prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,814. However the carton of the present invention is tubular in'shape from top to bottom, and in this respect it may be further defined as the .frustrum of a cylinder, and the carbon disclosed herein is particularly adapted to be used in combination with another product containing member such as a spheroidal or ellipsoidal shell in contrast with the patented carton whichis designed primarily as a product containing carton with a rectangular bottom and a round top;

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING whichthe tu- FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but with a portion of the side wall broken away to illustrate how the bottom of the carton is formed and the arrangement of the product containing shell locking means at the top of the carton;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a modified blank for forming the tubular carton of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is atop perspective view of the tubular carton formed from, the blank shown in FIG. 6 with a portion of the side wall broken away to illustrate how the bottom of the carton is formed and the arrangement of the product containing shell locking means at the top of the carton; I.

FIG. 8 is a horizontal sectional view of the tubular carton and product containing shell taken along the line 8-8 of FIG. 1; and,

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 99 of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The tubular carton 1 of the present invention is intended primarily for use in combination with a product containing shell 2,3 substantially as shown in FIGS. 1

and 2. In the illustrated embodiment, the product containing shell 2,3, is formed in the shape of an egg, but obviously the carton of the invention could readily be used with a spheroidal or ellipsoidal shaped shell or any other shell shape having at least a portion thereof cylindrical in shape and with curved surfaces in the region of the cylindrical shape.

The egg-shaped shell illustrated in FIG. 2 consists of two portions, an upper part 2 having dimensions slightly smaller than a lower part 3. The upper part 2 further includes a plurality of embossed protrusions 4 that are located in a plane that is slightly above a plane through the point of maximum diameter of the egg. The protrusions or locking elements 4 on the shell half 2 are arranged around the shell at equally spaced points, and in the embodiment shown, lie on 60 degree centers with respect to one another. Further, the locking elements 4 on the shell half 2 are arranged to become engaged in mating locking slots 14 provided inside the tubular carton 1 when the shell is inserted in the carton. Accordingly, the principle of the present invention resides in the arrangement and location of the locking elements 4 on the shell half 2 with respect to the size and location of the mating locking slots 14 on the tubular carton 1. Once the two elements (shell 2,3 and carton l) are inserted one within the other, the shell cannot be easily or readily removed from the carton in the same manner that it was inserted, but requires that the bottom of the carton be removed to permit removal of the shell from the carton and access to the contents of the shell.

The carton blank shown in FIG. 4, and the carton formed from the blank shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, is seen to comprise a pair of side wall panels 9 and 10, a circular bottom wall panel 13 located between and attached to the two side walls, and a plurality of finger-like flaps 15,16,17 and 15,l6',l7' also attached to the circular bottom wall panel 13. The side wall panels 9 and 10 are attached to the bottom wall 13 along a pair of perforated lines 19, 20 and the finger-like flaps 15,16,17 and l5',l6,17' are attached to the bottom wall 13 along the perforated lines 18 and 18 respectively.

' The side walls 9 and 10 further include along their upper edges a pair of flap elements 11,12 connected thereto along a pair of fold lines 22,23. The flap elements 11,12 each contain a plurality of equally spaced cut outs 14 which are elongated from end-to-end along the fold lines 22,23 and which have a width that is substantially equal to but slightly larger than the height of the locking elements 4 on the shell half 2. The flap element 11 is illustrated as being tapered inwardly along its free edge opposite the side wall 9 and the flap element 12 is illustrated as being tapered outwardly along its free edge opposite the side wall 10. The tapered arrangement of the flaps 11,12 is provided so that the respective ends of the flaps will cooperate with one another when the carton is set up substantially as shown in FIG. 5.

In setting up the carton from the blank shown in FIG. 4, the first step involves gluing the flaps l1 and 12 to the side walls 9 and 10. For this purpose, two adhesive applications to the blank of FIG. 4 are shown at 24 and 25..After the flaps 11, 12 are adhered to the inside of the walls 9,10, the blank is inserted in a conventional mandrel-type carton forming machine where the carton blank is formed into its tubular shape. The mandrel of the'carton forming machine is placed over the circular bottom wall 13 and the finger-like flaps 15,16,17 and l '-,16,l7 are each folded up from the plane of the wall 13 and adhesive is applied to their outside surfaces. Next, side wall 9 is applied with adhesive along its two .space'd edges in the region outside the width of the tapered flap 11, and the two side walls 9 and are folded up and around the mandrel so as to adhere the glue applied inside surfaces of side wall 9 to the cooperating outside surfaces of side wall 10. Simultaneously, the folding sequence brings the adhesive applied outside surfaces of the finger-like flaps 15,16,17 and 15,l6',17' into contact with the inside surfaces of the side walls 9 and 10 where they become adhered thereto. In this manner -the carton substantially as shown in- FIG. 5 is setup and glued for. shipment to the user.

An access means is provided for opening the bottom of the tubular carton in the form of a displaceable thumb panel formed bythe perforated line 21 and the connection between side wall 10 andcircular bottom wall 13. Thus after the product containing shell is inserted in the carton, access to the shell is achieved by pressing the area between perforated lines 20 and 21 to break .the connection, and then the circular bottom wall 13 can be removed from the carton by separating it from its attachment to the finger-like flaps 15,16,17 and 15',16,17' along the perforated lines 18 and 18'.

The carton blank shown in FIG. 6 and the carton formed from the blank shown in FIG. 7 comprises a circular bottom wall 33 attached to the lower edge of a carton side wall panel 43 along a perforated line 46. Also attached to the lower edge of carton side wall 43 there are a plurality of finger like flaps 35-43 located asymmetrically of the bottom wall 33 and attached theflap elements 31,32 contain a plurality of shell locking slots 34 of the same shape and size as those provided in the FIG. 4 embodiment described hereinbefore. In FIG. 6, the two flaps 31 and 32 are shown as being separated from one another by a slot at 49, however this slot could be omitted entirely depending on the diameter of the final carton. An access means for the bottom of the carton is provided by the perforated line 47 adjacent the connection 46 between the side wall 43 and the circular bottom wall 33. The access means for this embodiment functions substantially the same as the access means described hereinbefore for the FIG. 4 embodiment.

In setting up the carton from the blank shown in FIG. 6, the inside of side wall 43 is applied with adhesive as shown at 50 and the two flap elements 31,32 (or a single flap element where slot 49 is omitted) are folded over about fold line 48 and adhered to the inside of wall 43. The blank is then placed on a conventional mandrel-type carton forming machine where adhesive is applied to the inner surface of side extension 44 and to the outside surfaces of the finger like flaps 35-42. Subsequent manipulation of the carton forming machine wraps the side wall 43 around the mandrel and positions the finger-like flaps 3542 between the mandrel and the circular bottom wall 33 so that side wall extension 44 is adhered to the outer surface of the opposite end of side wall 43 while the finger-like flaps are adhered to the inside of the circular bottom wall 33. In this manner, the carton substantially as shown in FIG. 7 is set up and glued for shipment tothe user.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show the criticality of the arrangement of and spacing between the shell locking protrusions 4 and the locking slots 14 and 34 on the carton flap elements. In the embodiment shown, the shell locking elements 4 are spaced on 60 degree centers as may be seen in FIG. 8. FIG. 9 shows the shell locking elements 4 as being arranged on the shell half 2 in a plane B that is slightly above the plane that would extend through the maximum diameter of the shell. The location and arrangement of the locking elements on the surface of the shell is important in order to reduce pilferage of the shell from the carton. Thus, by inserting the end of the shell having the greatest diameter into the carton l to engage the locking elements 4 within their cooperating slots 14,34, the shell becomes locked in such a manner that it cannot readily or easily be removed from the carton. Furthermore, in order to provide a fail-safe mechanism for insuring that the shell will always become locked within more than one slot when the shell is ramdomly inserted in the carton, the criticality of the shape, spacing and size of the locking slots should be noted.

The slotted areas 14,34 cannot be made too small or they will be ineffective for their purpose. Moreover, the waste that is formed by very small cut outs is very difficult to remove from paperboard blanks. On the other hand, the slots cannot be too large or they will unduly weaken the flaps 11,12 and 31,32 and they will interfere with the correct fold along fold lines 22 and 48. Thus to offset these potential problems and to insure accurate locking of the elements 4 within the slots 14 or 34, the slots are made to be only slightly wider than the locking elements 4 and they are formed with an elongated dimension to provide a maximum amount of open area uniformly distributed around the carton on centers different from the centers of location of the locking elements on the shell. Thus, when the shells are randomly inserted into the carton portions, there is no necessity to establish any specific linearity of the two elements to guarantee that they will become locked together.

Thus, it may be seen that the present invention provides at least two embodiments of a novel carton construction having advantageous economical and useful features. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to the exact construction or details illustrated since those skilled in the art could readily make changes or substitutions within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A one piece blank of substantially rectangular shape for forming a tubular carton, comprising:

a. a bottom Wall panel of circular configuration located centrally of said blank;

b. a pair of side wall panels attached to two opposed sides of said bottom wall panel along perforated score lines;

c. a plurality of finger-like bottom closing flaps located between said side wall panels along the rerriaining opposed sides of said bottom wall panel and attached thereto along perforated lines;

d. a pair of tapered flaps foldably attached to said side wall panels along the edges thereof that are opposed from the attachment between said side wall panels and said circular bottom wall;

e. an access means in one of said side walls formed by a curved perforated line located adjacent the perforated line connecting said side wall to said bottom wall; and,

f. a plurality of longitudinallocking slots formed in each tapered flap and located adjacent the fold lines connecting the tapered flaps to the side wall panels.

2. A one piece blank of substantially rectangular shape for forming a tubular carton,'comprising:

a. an elongated carton side wall panel having an extension at one side thereof for forming a glue lap;

b. a bottom wall panel of circular configuration located along the lower edge of said side wall panel and connected thereto alonga perforated score line;

c. a plurality of finger-like bottom closing flaps located along the' lower edge of said side wall panel asymmetrically of said bottom wall panel and connected to said lower edge along a perforated score line;

d. at least one tapered flap attached along the upper edge of said side wall panel along a score line;

e. an access means in said side wall formed by a curved perforated line located adjacent the perforated line connecting said side wall to said bottom wall; and,

f. a plurality of longitudinal locking slots formed in the tapered flap and located adjacent the fold line connecting the tapered flap to the side wall panel.

3. In combination, a tubular carton formed from a unitary blank of paperboard or the like and a product retaining shell, a portion of which is of cylindrical cross section, said tubular carton having a closed bottom end and an open top end for supporting said product retaining shell, said tubular carton and said product retaining shell each including cooperating locking means, said tubular carton comprising:

a. a flat circular bottom wall;

b. a cylindrical side wall formed from at least one side wall panel and attached to said bottom wall along at least one edge thereof by a perforated line;

c. a plurality of finger-like bottom wall closure flaps connected between said bottom wall and said cylindrical side wall at the bottom of said tubular carton;

d. at least one tapered flap foldably connected to said cylindrical side wall and secured to the inside of said cylindrical side wall at the top of said tubular carton; and,

e. an access means in said cylindrical side wall adjacent the closed bottom of said tubular carton.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein the cooperating locking means of said prodluct retaining shell consists of a plurality of embossed protrusions on said product retaining shell that are spaced from one another and located in the region of the cylindrical cross section of said product retaining shell.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein the cooperating locking means of said tubular carton consists ofa plurality of elongated slots equally spaced from one another and located in the tapered flap secured to the inside of said cylindrical side wall at the top of said tubular carton. v

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein the flat circular bottom wall of said tubular carton is located centrally of the unitary blank of paperboard or the like from which the tubular carton is prepared, the cylindrical side wall consists of a pair of side wall panels attached to two opposed sides of said bottom wall and the finger-like bottom wall closure flaps are located between said side wall panels along the remaining opposed sides of said bottom wall and are attached thereto along perforated lines.

7. The combination of claim 5 wherein both the flat circular bottom wall and the plurality of finger-like bottom wall closure flaps are located along a lower edge of said cylindrical side wall and connected thereto along perforatedlines, with the finger-like bottom wall closure flaps being positioned asymmetrically of said bottom wall. 7 

1. A one piece blank of substantially rectangular shape for forming a tubular carton, comprising: a. a bottom wall panel of circular configuration located centrally of said blank; b. a pair of side wall panels attached to two opposed sides of said bottom wall panel along perforated score lines; c. a plurality of finger-like bottom closing flaps located between said side wall panels along the remaining opposed sides of said bottom wall panel and attached thereto along perforated lines; d. a pair of tapered flaps foldably attached to said side wall panels along the edges thereof that are opposed from the attachment between saiD side wall panels and said circular bottom wall; e. an access means in one of said side walls formed by a curved perforated line located adjacent the perforated line connecting said side wall to said bottom wall; and, f. a plurality of longitudinal locking slots formed in each tapered flap and located adjacent the fold lines connecting the tapered flaps to the side wall panels.
 2. A one piece blank of substantially rectangular shape for forming a tubular carton, comprising: a. an elongated carton side wall panel having an extension at one side thereof for forming a glue lap; b. a bottom wall panel of circular configuration located along the lower edge of said side wall panel and connected thereto along a perforated score line; c. a plurality of finger-like bottom closing flaps located along the lower edge of said side wall panel asymmetrically of said bottom wall panel and connected to said lower edge along a perforated score line; d. at least one tapered flap attached along the upper edge of said side wall panel along a score line; e. an access means in said side wall formed by a curved perforated line located adjacent the perforated line connecting said side wall to said bottom wall; and, f. a plurality of longitudinal locking slots formed in the tapered flap and located adjacent the fold line connecting the tapered flap to the side wall panel.
 3. In combination, a tubular carton formed from a unitary blank of paperboard or the like and a product retaining shell, a portion of which is of cylindrical cross section, said tubular carton having a closed bottom end and an open top end for supporting said product retaining shell, said tubular carton and said product retaining shell each including cooperating locking means, said tubular carton comprising: a. a flat circular bottom wall; b. a cylindrical side wall formed from at least one side wall panel and attached to said bottom wall along at least one edge thereof by a perforated line; c. a plurality of finger-like bottom wall closure flaps connected between said bottom wall and said cylindrical side wall at the bottom of said tubular carton; d. at least one tapered flap foldably connected to said cylindrical side wall and secured to the inside of said cylindrical side wall at the top of said tubular carton; and, e. an access means in said cylindrical side wall adjacent the closed bottom of said tubular carton.
 4. The combination of claim 3 wherein the cooperating locking means of said product retaining shell consists of a plurality of embossed protrusions on said product retaining shell that are spaced from one another and located in the region of the cylindrical cross section of said product retaining shell.
 5. The combination of claim 4 wherein the cooperating locking means of said tubular carton consists of a plurality of elongated slots equally spaced from one another and located in the tapered flap secured to the inside of said cylindrical side wall at the top of said tubular carton.
 6. The combination of claim 5 wherein the flat circular bottom wall of said tubular carton is located centrally of the unitary blank of paperboard or the like from which the tubular carton is prepared, the cylindrical side wall consists of a pair of side wall panels attached to two opposed sides of said bottom wall and the finger-like bottom wall closure flaps are located between said side wall panels along the remaining opposed sides of said bottom wall and are attached thereto along perforated lines.
 7. The combination of claim 5 wherein both the flat circular bottom wall and the plurality of finger-like bottom wall closure flaps are located along a lower edge of said cylindrical side wall and connected thereto along perforated lines, with the finger-like bottom wall closure flaps being positioned asymmetrically of said bottom wall. 